India has a large young population and a growing middle class, fueling rapid growth in its higher education sector. Over the past decade, India has established 91 new universities and seen undergraduate enrollment increase to over 23 million students. While undergraduate growth has been significant, postgraduate enrollment has remained steady at around 15% of undergraduates. The government allocates over $60 billion annually to education, with 21% going to higher education. Foreign universities are also looking to enter the Indian market, with Harvard announcing plans to open an office in India.

1. April 2015
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India, the second most populous country in the world
with over 1.2 billion people, is one of the youngest
countries in the world. With more than 140 million
between the age group of 17 and 23 years, India has the
largest population of young adults who fall into the
higher education age bracket. As the country moves
vigorously towards urbanisation, a surge in disposable
income has been observed. The Indian middle class is
therefore poised to become the most promising higher
education consumer in the near future.
With a growth rate of 7% per annum, the education
sector in India is growing rapidly. Within a span of 2
years (between the years 2010-11 and 2013-14), 91
universities have been established in the country
according to the Educational Statistics: At a glance, a
report published by the Ministry of Human Resource
Development of India in December 2014.
Degree (2013-14) Students in '000
UG 23,538
PG 3,374
PG Diploma 215
MPhil 35
Ph. D 84
At the undergraduate level, majority of students enroll
for courses in the Humanities & Social Sciences and
Commerce divisions. Together, these divisions constitute
56% of the total student enrolment. Engineering &
Technology and Science constitute 29% of the total
student enrolment.
While the growth in enrolments for undergraduate
courses has been significant, the same is not observed at
the post graduate level. In the year 2013-14, among the
total under-graduate students, only 15.75% have
enrolled for a postgraduate course. The figure shows a
marginal decrease in the postgraduate student
enrolment of 2010-11, which was at 15.98%.
Source: ‘Higher Education in India: A snapshot’ refers to the report ‘Educational
Statistics of India: At a glance’ (2013-14), published by Ministry of Human Resource
Development of India in December 2014, for the facts and figures.

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However, with the rise in the university establishments,
the Indian Government has paved way for growth in
the higher education sector.
The Indian government spends 4.29% of the national
GDP on education. The budget allocated for the
aforesaid sector is over INR 4,000 billion with major
focus on elementary education, followed by secondary
education at 25% and University and Higher education
at 21%, while 13% of the budget is allocated to the field
of Technical education that deals primarily with
Industrial Training Institutes (ITI’s). Only 0.3% of the
budget is allocated to adult education. The fruits of
huge investment into the elementary education are
being reaped now as the Ministry of Human Resource
Development recently announced that the proportion
of Indian ‘out of school’* has been brought down by
90%, indicating a scope for better student enrolment in
higher education in the years to come. This effort to
improve the education sector by the Government of
India has been recognized by the UNESCO.
“Improvements in early childhood education, universal
primary education, the huge reduction in ‘out of school’
children and gender equality are big achievements for
India, a country where more than 220 million children
are in schools.”- Aaron Benavot, Chief Author,
Education for All: 2000-2015.
Until the approval of FDI in education sector in April
2000, the Government of India funded its education
sector internally. However, with the gradual rise of
foreign players in the Indian education market, a total
of INR 20.51 billion has been invested in India in the
form of FDI between 2000 and 2012. Indian
Government is planning to introduce more reforms into
the higher education space to allow foreign universities
to set up and run their campuses in India.
“Harvard University has announced to set up its
international office in India and is awaiting approval
from Indian Government.”
*Out of School - Children in the official primary school age range who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools.

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India is a major contributor to the global flow of international students. According to a UNESCO survey conducted in
2012, India stands second in internationally mobile students. A report from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in
association with the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) states that ‘Indians spend a mammoth
USD 6-7 billion on International education’. It further states that not only the elite but also the middle class families
spend their lifetime savings on sending their children abroad for higher education, making India a rich source for
international universities.
Country Count
United States 97,120
United Kingdom 29,713
Australia 11,684
UAE 8,247
Canada 8,142
New Zealand 7,248
Germany 4,312
Russia 3,351
Ukraine 2,627
Country Count
France 1,955
Saudi Arabia 1,573
Sweden 1,551
Kyrgyzstan 1,137
Italy 942
Georgia 911
Netherlands 805
Others 8,154
Total 189,472
United States of America has been the favourite
destination for Indian students with more than
97,000 students followed by United Kingdom with
just under 30,000 students. Australia, United Arab
Emirates and Canada are also on the radar of Indian
students going global. With just under 190,000
Indian students going abroad, India contributes to
5.4% of the mobile students of the world.
Sannam S4 Education Research and Partnership Services
The Sannam S4 Education Research and Partnership
Services (ERPS) consolidates Sannam S4’s vast
experience in Research and Partnerships by working
Number of students moving out of India per annum
with our national and international business partners to bring critical market information to you. Sannam S4 supports
over thirty international educational clients from six different countries all of whom are active recruiters and recipients of
International students. We undertake bespoke market research to create a smooth and successful roadmap on gaining a
foot hold in India, Brazil and China. Sannam S4 has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai in India.
Sannam S4 has recently forayed into Brazil and has a presence in São Paulo and has partner offices in Beijing and
Shanghai in China.
Global flow of Indian students for Tertiary Education